BBC iPlayer set to offer social networking facility

by Alison Donnelly, Marketing 08-Jul-08, 09:10

LONDON - The BBC is continuing to expand its iPlayer service by allowing clips from its TV shows to be posted on social networking sites.

The corporation's head of digital media Anthony Rose has revealed plans to make the catch-up service embeddable, allowing users to put clips from TV shows on third-party websites such as Facebook and Bebo. Rose added that plans were already in motion to enable users to take entire shows onto third-party sites.

The development follows a series of wider changes to the latest version of iPlayer, which went live recently.

According to Rose, a mobile version of the iPlayer, which is currently available only on Apple's iPhone, may soon also be available for Nokia N95 handsets as part of a strategy to take the brand to a wider audience.

Last month, the launch of the iPlayer was named Marketing Moment of the Year at the Marketing Society Awards for Excellence.

The BBC will also ensure that any third-party sites will be checked for appropriateness and is considering blacklisting certain domains.